Looking For Your First Home?
MortgageBuzz is your lifeline to helping you achieve and purchase your first home. We provide support and guidance making it our mission to do most of the leg work for you when applying for a home loan. From start to finish we hold your hand ensuring your application is successful. We can help you with speaking to the real estate agent, organise property reports so you can determine a fair price, or make sure that you can go to auction. We take the guesswork out and you end up with a positive result and the keys to your first home.
We know how daunting it is when looking for your first home, not to mention paying off a loan.
Over the years, First Home Buyers have come in more confused with each updated bank policy and ever-changing new Government Grants available. People around you start offering you advice. Your tradie friend or the local café owner all want to help you, and most times leave you with more questions than answers. The question you need to ask yourself is; if you need an electrician to rewire your home, would you give the job to a doctor? No, you would go to the professionals in that field. When looking for home loan advice, come, and get it from one of our expert First Home Buyer Specialists at MortgageBuzz.
You may not know but different lenders have different loan qualifying tools and depending on the way your get paid, what industry you are in or if you are self-employed, it can make a difference in getting that approval. At MortgageBuzz your broker will investigate your finances and ensure that you qualify before we take your application to the right bank, making the process of your application feel seamless, quick, and easy and with a positive outcome.
How much do I need to earn to qualify for a home loan? How much deposit do I need? How much will my repayments be? All these questions, whilst still having the responsibility of work commitment and your lifestyle, can get stressful and overwhelming. The endless information from others and what you read starts to become cloudy and you could be left standing feeling alone and even more confused. So let us tell you the most important things you need to know.
- Start building a genuine savings deposit.
Yes, building a genuine deposit is one of the biggest things you can do as a First Home Buyer. You will need to have three months of a genuine savings deposit for a house. Genuine savings needs to be a minimum 5% of the value of the property you wish to purchase. There are a few rules that apply:
- It is crucial that you keep building up your deposit and try not to make withdrawals.
- Gifts and inheritance, prizes, or compensation paid can apply but still need to meet genuine saving criteria.
- Clear any outstanding debts & liabilities.
When applying for a loan, it’s preferable if you clear any outstanding debts you owe to any financial institution. Clear everything, including any Buy Now, Pay Later accounts such as Afterpay, credit cards, finance on cars, any, and everything! Although come see us before you do clear all debts as you don’t want to use all your genuine savings.
- Using your rental history
When applying for a home loan you may be able to use a rental ledger as evidence of genuine savings if you don’t have at least 5% saved. Make sure your payments are on time and are consistent.
- Having a clean transaction history and a good credit score
It’s important to have a good history with your spending and banking. Don’t have any late payments or dishonour payments as this is a red flag for the banks and they shriek at the sight of them! Maintain good spending habits and budget for at least 6 months prior to looking for your first home.
- Looking at your options with government grants
Government grants that are available to help First Home Buyers will be able to improve your chances of being approved for a home loan and the purchase of your First Home. However, it can get confusing when government grants change, and grant policies can be difficult to understand.
This is something your trusted MortgageBuzz broker will be able to help organise with you for your home loan application. We can find the right lender and grants that can be applied for your loan, making sure that you don’t miss out.
- Finding the right lender for you as a First Home Buyer
It’s important to find the right lender when applying for a home loan as a First Home Buyer. It’s crucial to find a lender that not only you qualify with, but they also fully accommodate First Home Buyers. This would be strategized and confirmed by your MortgageBuzz broker by contacting the bank’s credit representatives and confirming that you will be eligible for all Government Grants available.
- Have a Pre-Approval ready before making any offers
When you are looking for your first home and you are speaking to a real estate agent, having a Pre-Approved loan is a positive sign for the agent giving you an edge and increasing your chances of securing the house you want. It also gives you certainty of what property to look for and how much your loan will be.
- When signing a Contract of Sale, have “Subject to Finance, Pest and Building Inspection”
You are almost over the hill of this climb of being a First Home Buyer. You got the house, and the contract is in front of you. Everyone is exited, you sign it and pay your deposit. However, after a few weeks, IT is discovered that the property has major issues and you have signed a contract to purchase a property that is in a horrendous condition and your deposit and living situation is now at risk. The good thing is by having ‘subject to finance’ and having a pest and build inspection stipulated in your contract, you now can safely pull out of the deal and have you deposit you paid returned.
- Building your first home instead of purchasing an established home
When you build your first home, the rules change. The loan process is different, and it gets more complicated. There are multiple stages that need to be processed and considered; there are inspections, sunset clauses, building stages, off the plan purchases, and other conditions that require extra attention. The good news is, here at MortgageBuzz, we specialise in Construction loans, and fully understand the processes that are required at every stage. And when purchasing a new home, you can also be entitled to an extra government grant.
Our brokers at MortgageBuzz are ready and willing to book an appointment with you to discuss what your future plans are for purchasing your first home. We can help you put together a journey from start to finish, all the way from looking for your first home to live in, to setting up a plan, to getting you into that home.
What About First Home Buyers Schemes?
The First Home Guarantee (FHBG) is part of the Home Guarantee Scheme (HGS), an Australian Government initiative to support eligible first-home buyers to purchase a home sooner.
The program is administered by the National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation (NHFIC) on behalf of the Australian Government and is the most popular program utilized by Australians.
Under the FHBG, eligible home buyers (s) can purchase a home with as little as a 5% deposit without paying Lenders’ Mortgage Insurance.
Any home loan guarantee is for up to a maximum amount of 15% of the property’s value (as assessed by the Participating Lender). This Guarantee is not a cash payment or a deposit for a home loan.
For more information, visit the National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation (NHFIC) website to see eligibility criteria and other relevant information.
What Lenders Are Available Through Home Guarantee Scheme?
The National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation (NHFIC) have been expanding the panel of lenders since its inception and now has authorised panel of 33 participating lenders to offer the Home Guarantee Scheme (HGS) to home buyers.
Not all lenders are available through the broker network.
Application through HGS, can only be made via a participating Lender or their authorised representative which is generally a loans manager via branch or a mortgage broker.
NHFIC does not accept HGS applications or provide personal financial advice.
The current 33 participating lenders on the panel are:
